An OVERVIEW on Land Pollution

Wastes are a reality but can be recycled by nature when the ecosystems are in balance.

CARRYING CAPACITY

WASTES

POPULATION

POLLUTION

QuantityQuality/kind

POLLUTER

Others bear the costs

Public healthProperty

Aesthetics

Careless

disposal

advantage

To introduce students to the types, sources and effects of environmental pollution and some of the key strategies used in combating pollution.

Topics include water and air quality management, solid waste management and noise pollution control.

Aspects of pollution control legislation and its enforcement, environmental education and conservation will also be covered.

Understand the major causes of environmental pollution and its impacts.

Appreciate the range of pollution abatement strategies.

Know something of the legislation designed to protect the environment, economic aspects of pollution and its control and the role of environmental education in pollution control.

Types and sources of pollution Types and sources of pollution

Effects of pollution Effects of pollution

Pollution monitoring and assessment Pollution monitoring and assessment (environmental quality indices) (environmental quality indices)

Pollution abatement strategies and Pollution abatement strategies and technologiestechnologies

Other environmental issues such as Other environmental issues such as urban redevelopment, global climate urban redevelopment, global climate change etc.change etc.

Introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms.

Changes in the physical, biological and chemical conditions in the environment which harmfully affects the quality of life of plants and animals.

OTHERS

NOISE

WASTE

WATER

AIR

Pollution of the environment due to the release (into any environmental medium) from any process or substances which are capable of causing harm to man or any other living organisms supported by the environment.

UK Environmental Act 1990

A substance or effect which

adversely alters the environment by changing the growth rate of species, interferes with the food chain;

is toxic or interferes with health, comfort, amenities, (aesthetic) or property values of people.

Porteous (2000) Dictionary of Environmental Science and Technology. John Wiley & Sons

Introduced into the environment in significant amounts in the form of sewage, waste, effluent, accidental discharge, or as a by-product of a manufacturing process or other human activity.

Substances: solid, semi-solid, liquid, gas or sub-molecular particle; waste energy: heat, noise , or vibration.

Natural or synthetic

e.g. CO2 and H2S vs. DDT and PCB

Effect

Different levels of biological organizations

Properties

Toxicity, persistence, mobility, biological or physical properties

Controllability

Primary pollutant: A pollutant emitted directly into the

environment such as SO2 and CO

Secondary pollutant: Formed from a primary pollutant as a

results of chemical changes such as photochemical and other reactions, e.g. ozone and NOx

Point sources: Sources of pollution such as smokestacks, pipes, or accidental spills that are readily identified and stationary. Relatively easy to monitor and control

Non-point sources: Sources of pollutants such as surface runoff that are diffused and intermittent and are influenced by factors such as land use, climate, hydrology, topography, native vegetation, and geology. Runoff from streets or fields in urban areas; rural

sources associated with agriculture and mining Difficult to monitor and control

Manmade sourcesSources such as globally manmade

pollutants from combustion, construction, mining, agriculture and warfare.

Vehicles, chemicals, and sewages or wastes.

For example,

Acid rain; Ozone depletion & Greenhouse effects

Eutrophication & red tide (harmful algal bloom)

Ecotoxicology, carcinogenic & teratogenic* impacts

Interference with recreational activities; and

Reduction of drinking water quality

* teratogenic = malformations of an embryo or fetus.

Land/ Solid Wastes PollutionWater PollutionAir PollutionNoise Pollution

degradation of earth's land surfaces often caused by human activities and their misuse of land resources.

Haphazard disposal of urban and industrial wastes, exploitation of minerals, and improper use of soil by inadequate agricultural practices are a few factors.

Urbanization and industrialization are major causes of land pollution.

Wastes from Agriculture - waste matter produced by crop, animal manure, and farm residues.

Wastes from Mining - piles of coal refuse and heaps of slag.

Wastes from Industries - Industrial waste

matter that can cause land pollution can include paints, chemicals, and so on.

Sources of Land Pollution

Solids from Sewage Treatment - Wastes that are left over after sewage has been treated, biomass sludge, and settled solids.

Ashes - The residual matter that remains after solid fuels are burned.

Garbage - waste matter from food that are decomposable and other waste matter that are not decomposable such as glass, metal, cloth, plastic, wood, paper, and so on.

Erosion – major cause of soil damage Removal of vegetation that holds the soil

in place Careless farming methods Construction and land clearing projects Road development Real estate Mining Regular farming

Respiratory diseasesSkin diseasesLead to birth defectsVarious kinds of cancers

Effects of Land Pollution

Sources of photos: EPD

Most visible form

Most visible form – heavy populated urban areas

Refuse, trash or garbage Junk, cans,packaging materials, scrap

metals, papers Road litter, river, dumps unaesthetic

Most serious problems facing populated cities

SOLID WASTES

Waste collection (public and private)Landfills “Out of sight out of mind”NIMBY – “not in my backyard”“Tragedy of the commons”“What’s in it for me?”Natural resources have to be dug

from the groundWastes have to be buried in the

ground

Unavoidable or is it?Know how to reduce and disposeObjective is for a clean and suitable

environment

Biodegradable – wastes that can be acted upon by decomposers Food wastes, left-over vegetables, peelings Fish or fowl entrails, seeds, soft shells, garden

litter Animal manure, human wastes

Non-biodegradable – products of modern technology that cannot be decomposed. Metals, cans, glass, plastics, bottles,

styrofoam Feathers, leather, hard shell and bones

According to the MMDA (Metro Manila Development Authority)

6,000 to 8,000 metric tons per dayDumpsites

Payatas, San Mateo, Bulacan, etc.Bodies of water

Pasig river, San Juan river, creeks, canals, etc.

Segregation of biodegradable and non biodegradable wastes

To phase out or not? That is the question!

Source: EPD

Landfill – a pit or hole where wastes are safely disposed of using soil to cover the waste material

Incineration – process of burning wastes

Ocean dumping – oldest method of wastes disposal. Water is moving and everything would be washed away.

Cheapest method Sanitary landfill – designed to

contain refuse without creating nuisance or hazard to public health and safety Covering waste with soil is what makes it

sanitary Minimize entry of surface water Minimize gas escape

352 sanitary landfills is the solution to the garbage crisis

Responsibility of local government to regulate, control and monitor proper disposal of wastes

Sites have been identified and assessed to be morphologically ideal to health safety, drainage, soil and proximity to groundwater and surface water.

Open dumps are unacceptable

The major categories areC&D waste and Domestic waste Source: EPD 2004

Types of Solid Waste Disposed of at Landfills in 2004Types of Solid Waste Disposed of at Landfills in 2004

• The current landfills have 5-10 years life.

• It will take 10 years to develop and build new ones.

• Urgently need to identify new landfill sites, reduce waste loads and find new places to put construction waste.

• Household and other municipal waste loads have risen steadily, in line with the growth in population and wealth of the community.

• More people are expected to arrive in the cities in the coming decade.

Pressing Issues and solutionsPressing Issues and solutions

Source: EPD

Soil covering – controls flies and moisture, reduces odor, fires and combustions, discourages scavenging and maintains esthetics.

Trench landfill – artificially excavated, low water table, adequate soil depth

Area landfill – natural depressions

Good compactionLow permeabilityResistant to windResistant to cracking when drySupport increasing land mass

Benefit – solves the garbage problem for the time being.

Costs – hazards Methane , mercury, hydrogen sulfide,

nitrates and other toxins, etc. Systemic diseases and disorders, birth

defects Air and water pollution Loss of land breeding ground for pests

ExplosivesHazardous wastesBiological and pathological wastesSewage sludgeAnimal remainsSyringes, needlesLiquid wastesOil containers, drums and barrelsTelephone poles and railroad tiesRadioactive substances

One of the solutions to the garbage problem but no better than landfills

No suitable areas for disposal sitesAbsence of air pollution and control

devicesReduces volume by 50% but

produces toxic gasesEmission of more than 200 kinds of

toxinsFurans and dioxins – deadliest

compounds and persistent in living tissues

200,oooX more toxic than DDT

Nationwide banMedical wastes incineratorsFrench proposal to set up the world’s

largest municipal waste incinerator – rejected

South Korea, Taiwan and Japan – shifted from traditional “burn and bury” to active pollution prevention and disposal reduction

Japan has the highest rate of cancer, infant mortality, birth defects compared to countries which are incinerator-free

Cover-up to Japan’s garbage problem

Chemically carbon-basedDifficult to break down by physical,

chemical and biological means.Accumulates in the atmosphere

By-products of burning and chemical manufacturing Dioxins and furans

Agricultural pesticides DDT, aldrin, dieldrin, chordane, endrin, mirex, heptachlor, toxaphene

Industrial purposes Hexachlorbenzene (HCB) Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

2,500 metric tons of packaging materials, half a million cans, bottles and plastic containers are dumped every year

Used as sewers – potentially hazardous microorganism

Biomagnifications Chemical pollution is difficult to

removePolluted water cannot be used for

consumption and agricultureRecreation use becomes hazardous

In a coastal cleanup conducted in 1999

53% of debris collected were sachets and plastic bags

11% - Glass and foam plastic 19% - metal 7% - paper 6% - wood 3% - rubber 1% - cloth

Polluter Pay Concept The Irish government has been taxing residents about 15 cents apiece for using plastic shopping bags since March 2002.

• A drastic reduction in plastic bag use waste associated with disposable bags

• Lower the consumption of disposable bags by 95 %, from 500 million bags to less than 25 million.

• Generate about $3.4 million in profits

BBC News Aug 21 2002

YOU CAN MAKE THE DIFFENCE